Being a young, stressed and busy woman battling the stresses of her last year in college it only seemed fitting that I try expanding on my yoga and meditation practices. Prior to this assignment I really couldn’t remember the last time I acquired or expanded on a new skill. I have tried yoga once or twice before, but never practiced it consistently, therefore I knew that truly committing myself would be a challenge. I participated in yoga classes on a weekly-basis for several weeks in which I noticed major changes not only with my body but with my mind as well.
I have dabbled in things of this likeliness before but typically I find challenges in remaining persistent, very commonly I’ll try something, dislike it and abandon the practice. Yoga and meditation may not seem very difficult but it certainly took some time and patience in order for me to notice an expansion of my abilities, especially being able to notice first-hand the benefits of doing so. This paper references my expansion of consciousness in regard to expanding on my abilities as well as learning more about myself through the practice of meditation and yoga. Throughout this paper you will see evidence that links my learning experience to various theorists who focus on consciousness and self-awareness.
Yoga is a spiritual and acetic discipline that involves the practices of breathing control, meditation and the improvement of bodily posture. Yoga and meditation are practiced world-wide and people experience the benefits of both health and relaxation. The central intention of yoga is to develop inner peace and harmony. It provides an outlet to practice both mental and physical health. While yoga may burn calories and tone muscles it also provides an outlet for cognitive and emotional healing. Many people are convinced it also helps with relationships and self-confidence issues. People consider yoga to be a fantastic detox for your body, not just in a physical-manner but for your mind as well. Beforehand I thought yoga was ineffective and merely an ‘easy exercise outlet’ however after I completed my first class I quickly realized that this was not the case.
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When I first started yoga, I experienced several challenges. The initial workout was very difficult for me to complete, I lacked stamina and the drive to complete a full hour-long class. There were multiple times that I had to take breaks during the duration of the class considering I felt as if my body was going to give out. It was rather embarrassing considering I didn’t know many of the poses and meditation practices that were used. I was also made aware of beforehand that meditation would be a hard concept to be understood for newcomers. While many believe that meditation is to be used for the recreation of yourself as a being it is actually used for development of awareness and obtaining a new sense of perspective. Meditation involves focusing on your inner-thoughts, aspects such as your emotions, thoughts and opinions in present-time.
I have always been skeptical of mediation practices. I always thought of it to be some woo-woo spiritual exercise that provided no sort of substantial benefit. However, as I gradually became more adept at the practice I began to see the benefits that I was told would eventually come into play. Similarly to how Becker describes marijuana users unable to feel the effects of smoking for the first time, I was unaware of the gains that would eventually develop as I practiced yoga and meditation more (Becker). As described in the Becker Reading ‘Becoming A Marihuana User’ it is very typical for first-time smokers to not recognize the fact that they’re getting high. When I first began meditating I did not recognize any sort of benefits however, as I progressed in my yoga and meditation practices I very much understood the effects that this practice is able to provide me with. I simply didn’t recognize it at first because I was unsure of what to look for.
As described by Goffman there are preliminary conceptions in regard to the specific social settings in which an individual finds themselves in. Social settings very often establish the category of the type of people to be found there (Goffman). While I found myself struggling the first few classes I also found myself worrying about not fitting into the category of the type of people that would be found at the yoga studio. Starting from scratch in a room full of ‘yogis’ who have been taking classes for an extended amount of time can be extremely intimidating.
In fact, I was tempted to walk out of the studio right before my first class began. I didn’t want my stigma of being new to yoga to be discovered by others in the class. Considering a majority of the class knew all of the poses and meditation practices by heart, I found myself to be ‘sticking out’ and was worried that others wouldn’t think I belonged there due to the fact that I wasn’t as good as them at yoga. One of my biggest fears going into these classes was feeling like an outsider. However, as I became more comfortable in the class environment I felt myself progressing not only in form but in my own confidence as well.
Yoga uses mindfulness as well as meditation in order to explore and better understand the nature of consciousness. Another problem I ran into when first experimenting with yoga was the practice of silent meditation. Silent meditation is the use of silence and specified breathing techniques in order to calm the mind and focus in on your own awareness of self-consciousness. I had trouble with this concept because similar to what Cooley said I found it hard to examine my own consciousness without using any sense of language.
Charles Cooley referenced that in order for something to be deemed as conscious there needs to be a fixed language. Linguistic capacity correlates with what is going on in our own minds (Cooley). I have never been proficient at being quiet, I have always taken advantage of my linguistic capabilities and seem to always have something to talk about. The aspect of silence in regard to meditation proved as a challenge to me at first. Meditation is very much about finding inner-peace and inner-focus. Eventually I found meditation to lead me to a place of serenity and balance, but it certainly took some convincing as well as practice in order for me to believe in the method simply due to the fact that I didn’t think I would be able to develop my own sense of awareness and consciousness without the use of language.
As my studies progressed in the realm of meditation I was able to better understand how a sense of silence and inner-focus allows one to expand the depth of their own consciousness. In fact, I’d like to think that in contrary with what Cooley said one is able to gain a better sense of consciousness without the use of language. While language may help us better communicate with others, I think that in regard to learning more about yourself as a person the use of meditation and silence allows you to communicate more productively with yourself.
Throughout this process of advancing in my yoga and meditation studies I couldn’t help but think of Mead’s facets of subjectivity. According to Mead there are four facets of subjectivity, all which correlate with the practices of yoga and meditation. The first facet is a sense of agency in which an individual recognizes that they are the author of their own actions. This is very evident in yoga considering one of the main aspects of the practice is finding a connection between the body and mind. The second facet as described as a sense of coherence where the person understands themselves as a physical whole.
Understanding yourself as a physical whole is one of the main components of yoga and is key in regard to bettering your technique and understanding of the practice. One must also possess affectivity in regard to their experience of self. The last facet discussed by Mead is when a person is able to maintain continuity while changing, which is evident in the sense that an individual can continue improving and growing in the realm of yoga and meditation while still knowing all that they learned before (Mead). As I continued my practice of yoga and meditation I was able to recognize and connect these facets in regard to the actual practice of yoga and meditation.
Yoga may not seem very difficult however what people fail to recognize is the perseverance and strength it takes to develop your skills. Although it may not be your average cardio-driven workout it is in fact a workout that makes you exert energy in an extremely hard fashion. The first several classes I found myself shaking uncontrollably and sweating, the following day I was barely able to walk.
During the midst of the first few classes I took I found myself stopping in the middle of the class. Even though realistically I could complete the full duration of the class I was overcome by the exhaustion and uncomfortableness of the workout. However, as I progressed in these classes I found that if I simply pushed myself and believed in my physical ability enough to finish a class without stopping I was then able to do so, it simply took some mind over matter. Descartes believed the body to be distinct from the mind, but he did believe that the mind could influence matter (Descartes). This claim is commonly called Cartesian dualism.
With the use of willpower, I was able to conquer the physical difficulty I experienced during the classes I participated in. One of the main objectives of yoga and meditation is understanding the relationship between the mind and the body. By focusing on breathing methods, cleansing practices as well as the exercise of particular bodily postures it is said to help you achieve inner peace and reach a level of stable mental harmony. The poses and movements involved in yoga are thought of to shape the mind and allow one to reach a certain level of self-awareness. Although the mind-body connection is something we experience on a daily-basis, I never was able to understand it to the full extent that I now do thanks to my participation in these yoga/meditation classes.
I truly believe that diving into the world of yoga and meditation has transformed my senses of consciousness and awareness. I don’t necessarily think that my consciousness has changed as a whole but more so has expanded and I’ve been able to grasp a better understanding of it. I am truly grateful for the opportunity that this assignment has presented to me considering I gained an in-depth understanding of my own sense of consciousness and was able to tie my experience to several main theorist we learned about this past semester. The dimension of consciousness has proved to be one of the most inexplainable fundamental experiences of life. What it is and why we have it has remained one of the most discussed topics of life that not even the most ingenious of minds have been able to answer.
We are able to experience our own sense of consciousness first-hand but indirectly understand other individual’s sense of consciousness. By attempting to reach inner-peace as well as learning how to shut out other ongoing dimensions prevalent of everyday life and focus on myself and my own sense of awareness, I feel I have been able to grow as a person and acquire a better understanding of myself. Not only was I able to excel in a skill that I wouldn’t have participated in otherwise, but I have also expanded on my own ideas of consciousness. I am looking forward to demonstrating what I have learned throughout this process both in and outside of the studio.
